


The Perks of Public Transportation

by maiNuoire



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, College Student Derek, College Student Stiles, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 11:46:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6237367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maiNuoire/pseuds/maiNuoire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek and Stiles catch the bus together three days a week. But now the semester is almost over and Stiles' plan to woo Derek needs a new timeline</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Perks of Public Transportation

**Author's Note:**

> This might get expanded upon in the future, if y'all like it.
> 
> Based on
> 
> [this tumblr post](http://poetry-protest-pornography.tumblr.com/post/140934521174/hoechlinslapsdylansbutt-iamderekhale-today-at)

It was a crisp and sunny mid-morning, and Stiles was waiting at his bus stop as usual, giving himself a “today's the day” pep talk and balancing his tray of coffee with both slightly shaky hands. 

 

Today was the day he was going to ask the super hot guy he took the bus with three days a week on a date. Super Hot Bus Guy- _ Derek _ \- was also super nice, and super smart, and super funny, in a dry, witty, and unexpected way. They'd talked for at least a handful of minutes almost every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the last two and a half months. With the semester quickly winding down, Stiles was panicking and moving up his extended wooing plan; he would not lose his chance to see Super Hot Bus Guy (he really needed to stop mentally referring to Derek by his original mental moniker, before it got him in trouble) to a change in class schedule.

 

He looked up from studying his tray of hot beverages and took a deep breath to pause his rehearsal of his “We should hang out sometime when we're not waiting on public transport" speech. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Derek approaching the little bus stop shelter, a wide, warm grin lighting up his face at the sight of Stiles, making Stiles’ heart stutter briefly as he coughed to clear his throat.

 

“Hey, Der,” he greets the other man, mentally berating himself for the lameness of the sentiment. 

 

He quickly reconsiders the thought when Derek's smile widens further and his “Good morning, Stiles,” comes out fond and somewhat sleep roughened, as though he hasn't said much yet this morning. The scratchy quality to his already impossibly sexy voice makes Stiles’ belly flutter.

 

Stiles holds out his tray of coffee to ward off the urge to smooth Derek's hair down where the gentle breeze has thrown a few strands out of place. 

 

“They made your drink wrong again,” Derek frowns at the still steamy cups as he wiggles one of them free from the cardboard tray; Stiles takes a moment to regret that he wasn't holding the cups, missing out on the chance for their fingers to brush. “Either you always luck into the worst barista, they're flirting with you with bad listening skills, or,” Derek ticks of the options on his long, wide fingers and Stiles is momentarily mesmerized, finds that his fingers itch to feel the fuzzy green material of Derek's light sweater, see if it's as soft as it looks. It gets worse when Derek smirks before he finishes with “or you are just super considerate and don't want me to know you buy me a latte twice a week and made up a story about a barista who constantly forgets your flavor shot.”

 

Stiles laughs uncomfortably, his free hand rubbing at the back of his neck; he's looking slightly down, so he misses Derek following the movement of his hand along the length of his neck, misses how Derek's eyes trace the path the mild blush takes as it paints Stiles’ cheeks and the tips of his ears.

 

“You caught me,” he admits, “though that first time, they really did mess it up, so... there's that.”

 

Derek laughs, the sound bright and unexpectedly warm, “Why keep up the charade? I must owe you like, $70 in caffeine by now, Stiles!”

 

Stiles shrugs, “Nah, my friend Erica works at the coffee shop, I get her discount most mornings. Plus, that first time you were so excited about it, I kinda just wanted to keep doing the thing that made you smile, so…,” Stiles trails off, certain he's revealed too much already, but Derek just smiles, raises his cup in Stiles’ direction in a small salute and smiles, taking a cautious sip.

 

“Well, thank you. And thank Erica, too, I guess. For not bankrupting you and allowing you to keep us both happily caffeinated.” Stiles watches the bob of his throat as he swallows and gulps, fidgeting with his own drink and taking a sip to hide it.

 

Stiles clears his throat and mutters “ _ Today's the day, Stilinski,”  _ under his breath before asking Derek “So, um, what's your schedule look like next semester? Are you planning on summer classes?” He's secretly half hoping that they have no overlap in schedule, because it'll give him an easy excuse to bring up hanging out; an easy transition from “ _ I guess you'll have to get your own coffee since we won't be catching the bus together _ " to  _ “or, you could meet me sometime, for coffee, keep up the morning tradition,”  _ or some other equally impressive proposition.

 

“I'll probably take summer courses, yeah. At least one, because there's this really cool, like, experiential history class? It's kinda weird, but the professor is really passionate and she apparently really knows how to make the material come alive. I'm pretty excited. Oh! And there's a photography course I'm really looking forward to, also. You should register with me, I think you'd have fun.”

 

Stiles is pulled from his quiet admiration of Derek's impassioned rambling by the invitation. A shared class? Does that mean Derek wants to see him outside of their bus stop encounters, too? 

 

He must contemplate the possibility a little too long, because Derek shifts uncomfortably and begins to backtrack, “I mean, only if you have any interest in photography, I just thought, grin what we've talked about that-”

 

“Yes!” Stiles interjects too forcefully, his enthusiasm pushing the word from his throat before he can think it through. He continues, slightly more in control of his excitement, “I mean, I like photography. And I need an art credit. It uh, it sounds fun. Plus, it'd be nice to have a friend in the class. To have you, I mean. It'd be nice to see you outside of the bus shelter, you know,” Stiles’ hand is back on his neck, and Derek is smiling at him, a soft curl of his lips that makes his eyes crinkle a little.

 

“Yeah, that'd be really nice,” Derek says, quiet and sincere.

 

Stiles returns his smile, and Derek runs a hand absently through his hair, arranging it into further disarray in an incredibly endearing way. Derek takes a breath, rocks slightly back and forth on his heels before continuing. “Next semester should be interesting though, there's this anthropology class…”

 

Stiles listens contentedly, sipping his coffee and enjoying the rumble of Derek's voice and the warmth of his body as he shuffles a tiny bit closer, their shoulders not quite brushing as the bus turns the corner. Stiles sighs into his cup, happy with the knowledge that whatever the next semester brings, he won't be losing his chance with Derek.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/poetry-protest-pornography) with me!


End file.
